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May 03, 2025
 

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Feelings of lethargy and anxiety can sometimes hit after the Golden Week holiday period has concluded. The Japanese call this the “May blues.”
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Why the month of May feels tough and how language can help
The phenomenon known as the "May blues" can have serious ramifications if you don't deal with it.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
How to bring up bad news in Japanese
A few grammatical structures can help you talk about being sick, but set phrases will come in handy when the illness is more severe.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Voicing intentions and a peek into a traditional Japanese engagement ceremony
While the basics of a marriage proposal are similar to what happens in most countries, an extra ceremony requires specific gifts.
Signs advertising the upcoming World Expo in Osaka have proliferated in the city's different neighborhood for the past few years.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 11, 2025
I’ve only just come back from Osaka, but I’m ready to hit the Expo
By Yuko Tamura
The term “bakari” can be used in several different ways to emphasize and define the limit of a range.
Since April marks the start of a new fiscal period in Japan, there is a good chance you’ll be meeting new colleagues this month.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 5, 2025
Meeting new colleagues and introducing yourself in Japanese
By Yuko Tamura
Get off on the right foot at work or school with a few set phrases that are easy to memorize.
Graduation ceremonies in Japan will usually include a performance of the Japanese national anthem, “Kimigayo.”
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 28, 2025
Attempting the classics: The world of waka poetry
By Eric Margolis
The origins of this poetry style stretch back to at least the seventh century, when one of the emperor's wives composed it at court ceremonies.
A sign at Tokyo's Haneda Airport shows users the way to the monorail in four different languages.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 22, 2025
Can we make it official? Language in the age of Trump.
By Peter Backhaus
The United States made English its main language, but in Japan things seem to be heading in a different way.
The 通勤経路 (tsūkin keiro, commuting route) is a big part of most working Tokyoites’ daily routines.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 14, 2025
From 'commuting' to 'passing through,' meet the kanji that's always on the move
By Yuko Tamura
The character 通 is also used to denote avenues and forms of communication.
While you need to pass over cash for taxes, don't fall for scams that trick you into paying what you don't owe.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 6, 2025
Scams, taxes and tariffs: It's that time of year.
By Yuko Tamura
Financial scams abound in Japan and a new one uses tax-related terminology.
Noonoo, a chihuahua dressed in a T-shirt that reads "BRAT," takes part in the Halloween Dog Parade in New York last year.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 28, 2025
Brats, rebels and rascals: Finding the right word for mischievous kids
By Yuko Tamura
Charli XCX’s idea of “brat” doesn’t translate neatly into Japanese, but there are other words for playful rebellion.

Israel protests after Kyoto inn seeks war crime declaration from tourist
A street in Kyoto in March 2023. An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a document stating that he had not committed war crimes when he checked in at a Kyoto guesthouse in April, prompting a response from Israel's ambassador.
Nearly half of workers in Japan engage in ‘quiet quitting’
"Quiet quitting" is most common among the younger generation, with 46.7% of respondents to a survey in their 20s identifying with the practice, reflecting a less-motivated workforce more focused on work-life balance.
Britain responds after Expo 2025 afternoon tea brews outrage
The café space at the Osaka Expo's British pavilion
Truck driver's body recovered from huge Japan sinkhole after three months
Workers stand around a vehicle carrying the body of a person recovered from a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Friday.
Second round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks ends inconclusively in Washington
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (far left), U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator. The second round of tariff negotiations between Japan and the United States were held on Thursday in Washington.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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